Integrated behaviour change intervention for sustainable community development: a KAP study of WASH in district Gujrat, Pakistan

Abstract

Behaviour change interventions are fundamental to achieve sustainability in communities through the identification of new, and strengthen-ing the existing positive practices. It is considered central to the quest for a sustainable future and solves multidimensional community problems, which require large scale shifts in human behaviour with regard to their health, socio-physical activities and long held habits. In this context, the study examines the role of integrated behaviour change interventions for sustainable community development by explor-ing the direct and mediating impacts through knowledge attitude and practice (KAP) of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH). The primary data was collected from district Gujrat (Pakistan) through stratified random sampling to explore the impacts of KAP of WASH and its relation-ship with child health and sustainable community development. The hypotheses of the study were tested with smartPLS software. Findings of the overall sample of the study have revealed that integrated behaviour change interventions have significant impacts on KAP, WASH practices in daily life, child health (CH) and sustainable community development (SCD). Furthermore, the relationships among variables are positively significant and have direct and mediating impacts on sustainable community development.